In the Hôtel des Bleues, it is impossible to extract from the coaches present any indication of the level of Montenegro, Italy, or even a preference as to the team to face in the quarter-finals for France on Thursday. “Italy is more experienced, Montenegro relies on fewer players, two or three”, we argued, at best.
The play-off disputed between the two teams on Monday evening in Tel Aviv (Israel) qualified the Montenegrins (63-49), second in their group (behind Spain), propelled into the quarterfinals thanks to an improbable 21-0 inflicted between the first and the second act (from 8-8 to 29-8).
A trio Jovanovic, Lekovic and Mack menacing
The work, as announced, of three players: winger Milica Jovanovic (17 points), who played this season in the discreet Hungarian Championship, leader Marija Lekovic (15 points) – hit in the right ankle at the end of the match – and finally the naturalized Texan interior Natasha Mack (1.93m, 25 years old).
The latter, in double-double (13 points, 15 rebounds), was particularly prominent and will appear in Ljubljana as the second best rebounder of the tournament (11.3 catches per game on average). Not easy when France does not yet know if it can count on Iliana Rupert (shoulder). What reinforce the impression that, in two days, the Blue will have anything but an easy match to negotiate.
